Dr. Jocelyn Charles named Ontario's Family Physician of the Year
Sunnybrook physician Dr. Jocelyn Charles has been named Ontario’s 2019 recipient of the Reg L. Perkin Family Physician of the Year award by the Ontario College of Family Physicians.
The award is the OCFP’s highest honour, presented annually to a family doctor who provides exceptional care to patients while significantly contributing to the health and well-being of communities and society.
“Dr. Charles has been looking after three generations of my family over the past 25 years, caring for my wife and me, our children and my parents,” said Larry Novachis. “When my parents got very sick, Dr. Charles would visit my mother late at night in intensive care and made house calls to make sure both were doing well. She not only provided excellent patient care to them both, she was also a key counselor and a calming influence for all of us. Our family feels blessed to be in her care.”
Dr. Charles exemplifies the vital role family physicians play across Ontario as clinicians, advocates, teachers, and researchers.
Over 30 years of advocating for and advancing patient-centred, collaborative care
When Dr. Charles was three years old, a family physician saved her life. This and other experiences as a patient have inspired and shaped her career. Today, Dr. Charles provides a broad scope of care across generations of families. Working in the Family Health Team and as medical director of the Veterans Centre at Sunnybrook, she is well known for her unwavering commitment to veterans and her patients. Her passion for collaborative, patient-centred care led her to co-develop and co-author tools for care coordination that are being used province wide, like TIP – Telemedicine Impact Plus – which allows primary care physicians to collaborate virtually with an interprofessional team of specialists to support patients with complex conditions.
A well-respected teacher and mentor at the University of Toronto, Dr. Charles is also actively involved in health system solutions both locally and provincially. As Physician Advisor at the Toronto Central LHIN, she liaised with local primary care providers to strengthen local primary care for patients and co-created a primary care strategy for central Toronto. She also volunteers with SPRINT Senior Care where she shares her expertise on strategies for improving practice to help seniors live safely in the community.
“Dr. Charles exemplifies interprofessional collaboration and comprehensive care, which are central to an effective medical home for patients and improving their health and well-being,” said Dr. Jennifer Young, President, Ontario College of Family Physicians. “Whether through her busy family practice, love of teaching, work with veterans and frail seniors, or system leadership roles, Dr. Charles has significantly impacted the lives of her patients and her community. It is an honour to recognize her achievements through this award.”
Read more on the Ontario College of Family Physicians website »
